RCT Homes act after Connaught problems

AS PLAID Cymru AM Leanne Wood calls for assurances that the updating of houses throughout RCT will not be affected by housing giant Connaught’s financial problems, RCT Homes has stepped in to secure the jobs of 20 of its Welsh-based workers.

AS PLAID Cymru AM Leanne Wood calls for assurances that the updating of houses throughout RCT will not be affected by housing giant Connaught’s financial problems, RCT Homes has stepped in to secure the jobs of 20 of its Welsh-based workers.

Wales’ largest social landlord announced this week that they had taken 18 staff and two apprentices on to its own workforce, after their employment with Connaught to carry out servicing, maintenance and repair of gas appliances in more than 1,000 RCT Homes properties looked to be under threat.

When Connaught recently announced it had gone in to administration, its contracts with RCT Homes were terminated.

The move enabled RCT Homes to deal directly with sub-contractors, agency workers and suppliers to make sure work on the five-year multi-million pound major improvement programme to refurbish thousands of tenants’ homes, can continue with minimal disruption.

RCT Homes chief executive Andrew Lycett said: “It means that we will get the work restarted within a matter of a few days.

“In a handful of cases, tenants were left without a kitchen when Connaught went into administration. I am particularly concerned to get tradesmen back into those homes as quickly as possible so that we can get the new kitchens fitted.

“We had put in a lot of effort to make sure that local suppliers and local sub-contractors were used on the RCT Homes contract. We are acting quickly to remove uncertainty and protect jobs in the local supply and sub-contracting chain.”

Meanwhile, Rhondda-born Leanne Wood AM has said uncertainty still remains over some 1,900 jobs and the future of the area’s social housing.

Administrators have agreed to sell the bulk of Connaught to building firm Morgan Sindall for £28m and take over the majority of its maintenance contracts.

Employees will be transferred to Morgan Sindall’s own affordable housing unit, Lovell Partnerships.

Ms Wood, who represents South Wales Central, said: “Despite the news that Connaught has been bought, we all need to know that the updating of their homes will not be affected. We warned about the impact of stock transfer where firms are involved in a Dutch auction to win work and then find they cannot deliver what they promised.”